Change of course in the UK: freeze public sector hiring, cut benefits, withdraw the climate agenda

In just over a year, the UK will head to a general election again. On paper, all opinion polls point to certain defeat for the Conservative Party. However, the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suggested changing the polls And attempting a feat that most experts consider practically impossible.

After the fall of Boris Johnson and the short term of Liz Truss, opinion polls put the gap between the Conservatives and Labor at stark levels. The left was flying high, with voting intentions ranging between 50% and 55%, while the right barely reached 20%. However, opinion polls published in recent weeks have reduced support for the Labor Party to about 45%, while the Labor Conservatives They move just under 30%. The trend is clear: If Sunak “presses”, he could make an election that many considered a loser become a contested election.

In fact, the Indian-origin Prime Minister proposed extending legislative power as much as possible, exhausting the deadlines for calling elections, and taking the date with the polls until January 2025. Precisely for this reason, all eyes were turned to the annual conference. Conservative Party meeting, an event at which Sunak and his team introduced some “star measures” with which they aim to regain the confidence of voters who had been betting on the right for fifteen years, but then distanced themselves from the party. Leadership crises witnessed last year.

The first thing Sunak did was announce a rollback in publishing the so-called “climate agenda”. As Domingo Soriano explained in the pages of this newspaper, “In the face of the slogan that we must do whatever it takes to reduce emissions,” the leader Conservative Party Raise logical economic objections in any case.

The changes brought about in climate matters include aspects such as (1) Licensing new exploration to extract gas and oil In the North Sea (2) Relaxing targets that limit the future sale of petrol and diesel vehicles, (3) No Postpone rules requiring boiler refurbishment or energy efficiency work In homes and buildings (4) Freeze “green” taxes. That the driving tax in light passenger cars, (5) and Reducing the scope of low emission areas(6) The Moderation and reducing fines For minor driving violations, or (7) the Increased speed limits Unnecessarily low.

We must not forget that The UK’s environmental indicators support a less alarmist and more considerate approach to tackling climate issues. In the following three graphs, you can see that (1) carbon dioxide emissions have declined, (2) carbon dioxide production per dollar of economic activity generated is trending sharply lower, and (3) the above-mentioned greenhouse gas emissions measured by The relationship with population has declined sharply per capita.

Star measurements Conservatives

But these are not the only decisions announced by Rishi Sunak’s government within the framework of his party’s annual conference. Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt also announced that there will be no tax rises in 2024, which… The appointment of public employees will be frozen As a saving measure Requirements for collecting social assistance will be tightened To encourage worker participation.

Likewise, it announced the launch of A “Smart Organization” program. It aims to reduce the regulatory burden borne by companies. Finally, it launched the Edinburgh Agenda, through which it aims to deepen the liberalization of the financial sector, and lay the foundations for a new big explosion in the city.

However, there are those within the Conservative Party who regret that Hunt did not commit to any tax cuts for next year and his decision – Adjusting the minimum wage to a higher level, which will range from £10.42 to £11 per hour worked. The Prime Minister’s entourage responded to these criticisms by emphasizing that the former was difficult to achieve in the face of the country’s financial crisis, while the latter was interpreted as a clear attempt to reach out to undecided voters with more open policies. Leftist trait…

Regarding taxes, it is important to remember that Sunak announced a major tax incentive for private pension plans. Under changes announced last spring, the annual contribution Britons can deduct from their income tax returns rose from £45,000 to £70,000. However, the Conservatives’ appetite for further tax cuts remains and measures for such a cut throughout 2024 cannot be ruled out.